Zachary Riggins

Zachary Riggins is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of IDS at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. His research focuses on postcritical and transnational approaches to 20th and 21st century literature, emphasizing the intersections between aesthetics, epistemology, and identity. He holds a PhD in English from Texas A&M University (2024) and dual BAs in English and Philosophy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2018).

Education

• PhD in English, Texas A&M University, 2024
• BA in English, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2018
• BA in Philosophy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2018

His research explores multi-ethnic American literature, transnational frameworks, and the rhetoric of technical writing. Recent work examines affect theory in texts like John Okada’s No-No Boy and Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, analyzing racial, gendered, and epistemological dynamics. Presentations include explorations of structural violence in Jaquira Díaz’s Ordinary Girls and Irish autobiographical narratives.

His academic contributions bridge postcolonial theory with contemporary critical approaches, offering innovative readings of canonical and understudied texts. No specific grants or awards are listed, though his presentations reflect active engagement in interdisciplinary literary studies.